Volume II Part 27 (1/2)
”Many were restrain'd by an unwillingness to take the oath required before a vote could be receiv'd; many, disgusted with the present state of things, have come to the unwise determination of revenging themselves on those whom they charge with having occasion'd it by taking no part whatever in the politics of their country, & many seem to be indifferent to every consideration not immediately connected with their particular employments.”
Holland's example made the deepest impression on Marshall's mind. What he saw and heard fortified his already firm purpose not to permit America, if he could help it, to become the subordinate or ally of any foreign power. The concept of the American people as a separate and independent Nation unattached to, unsupported by, and unafraid of any other country, which was growing rapidly to be the pa.s.sion of Marshall's life, was given fresh force by the humiliation and distress of the Dutch under French control.
”The political opinions which have produc'd the rejection of the const.i.tution,” Marshall reasons in his report to Was.h.i.+ngton, ”& which, as it wou'd seem, can only be entertain'd by intemperate & ill inform'd minds unaccustom'd to a union of the theory & practice of liberty, must be a.s.sociated with a general system which if brought into action will produce the same excesses here which have been so justly deplor'd in France.
”The same materials exist tho' not in so great a degree. They have their clubs, they have a numerous poor & they have enormous wealth in the hands of a minority of the nation.”
Marshall interviewed Dutch citizens, in his casual, indolent, and charming way; and he thus relates to Was.h.i.+ngton the sum of one such conversation:--
”On my remarking this to a very rich & intelligent merchant of Amsterdam & observing that if one cla.s.s of men withdrew itself from public duties & offices it wou'd immediately be succeeded by another which wou'd acquire a degree of power & influence that might be exercis'd to the destruction of those who had retir'd from society, he replied that the remark was just, but that they relied on France for a protection from those evils which she had herself experienc'd. That France wou'd continue to require great supplies from Holland & knew its situation too well to permit it to become the prey of anarchy.
”That Holland was an artificial country acquired by persevering industry & which cou'd only be preserv'd by wealth & order. That confusion & anarchy wou'd banish a large portion of that wealth, wou'd dry up its sources & wou'd entirely disable them from giving France that pecuniary aid she so much needed. That under this impression very many who tho'
friends to the revolution, saw with infinite mortification french troops garrison the towns of Holland, wou'd now see their departure with equal regret.
”Thus, they willingly relinquish national independence for individual safety. What a lesson to those who wou'd admit foreign influence into the United States!”
Marshall then narrates the events in France which followed the _coup d'etat_ of September 4. While this account is drawn from rumors and newspapers and therefore contains a few errors, it is remarkable on the whole for its general accuracy. No condensation can do justice to Marshall's review of this period of French history in the making. It is of first importance, also, as disclosing his opinions of the Government he was so soon to encounter and his convictions that unrestrained liberty must result in despotism.
”You have observed the storm which has been long gathering in Paris,”
continues Marshall. ”The thunderbolt has at length been launch'd at the heads of the leading members of the legislature & has, it is greatly to be fear'd, involv'd in one common ruin with them, the const.i.tution & liberties of their country.... Complete & impartial details concerning it will not easily be obtained as the press is no longer free. The journalists who had ventur'd to censure the proceedings of a majority of the directory are seiz'd, & against about forty of them a sentence of transportation is p.r.o.nounced.
”The press is plac'd under the superintendence of a police appointed by & dependent on the executive. It is supposed that all private letters have been seiz'd for inspection.
”From some Paris papers it appears, that on the first alarm, several members of the legislature attempted to a.s.semble in their proper halls which they found clos'd & guarded by an arm'd force. Sixty or seventy a.s.sembled at another place & began to remonstrate against the violence offer'd to their body, but fear soon dispersed them.
”To destroy the possibility of a rallying point the munic.i.p.al administrations of Paris & the central administration of the seine were immediately suspended & forbidden by an arrete of the directoire, to a.s.semble themselves together.
”Many of the administrators of the departments through France elected by the people, had been previously remov'd & their places filled by persons chosen by the directory....
”The fragment of the legislature convok'd by the directory at L'Odeon & L'ecole de sante, hasten'd to repeal the law for organizing the national guards, & authoriz'd the directory to introduce into Paris as many troops as shou'd be judg'd necessary. The same day the liberty of the press was abolish'd by a line, property taken away by another & personal security destroy'd by a sentence of transportation against men unheard & untried.
”All this,” sarcastically remarks Marshall, ”is still the triumph of liberty & of the const.i.tution.”
Although admitting his lack of official information, Marshall ”briefly”
observes that: ”Since the election of the new third, there were found in both branches of the legislature a majority in favor of moderate measures & apparently, wis.h.i.+ng sincerely for peace. They have manifested a disposition which threaten'd a condemnation of the conduct of the directory towards America, a scrutiny into the transactions of Italy, particularly those respecting Venice & Genoa, an enquiry into the disposition of public money & such a regular arrangement of the finances as wou'd prevent in future those dilapidations which are suspected to have grown out of their disorder. They [French conservatives] have sought too by their laws to ameliorate the situation of those whom terror had driven out of France, & of those priests who had committed no offense.”
Marshall thus details to Was.h.i.+ngton the excuse of the French radicals for their severe treatment of the conservatives:--
”The cry of a conspiracy to reestablish royalism was immediately rais'd against them [conservatives]. An envoy was dispatched to the Army of Italy to sound its disposition. It was represented that the legislature was hostile to the armies, that it withheld their pay & subsistence, that by its opposition to the directory it encourag'd Austria & Britain to reject the terms of peace which were offer'd by France & which but for that opposition wou'd have been accepted, & finally that it had engag'd in a conspiracy for the destruction of the const.i.tution & the republic & for the restoration of royalty.
”At a feast given to the armies of Italy to commemorate their fellow soldiers who had fallen in that country the Generals address'd to them their complaints, plainly spoke of marching to Paris to support the directory against the councils & received from them addresses manifesting the willingness of the soldiers to follow them.
”The armies also addressed the directory & each other, & addresses were dispatched to different departments. The directory answer'd them by the stronge[st] criminations of the legislature. Similar proceedings were had in the army of the interior commanded by Gen^l. Hoche. Detachments were mov'd within the limits prohibited by the const.i.tution, some of which declar'd they were marching to Paris 'to bring the legislature to reason.'”
Here follows Marshall's story of what then happened, according to the accounts which were given him at The Hague:--
”Alarm'd at these movements the council of five hundred call'd on the directory for an account of them. The movement of the troops within the const.i.tutional circle was attributed to accident & the discontents of the army to the faults committed by the legislature who were plainly criminated as conspirators against the army & the republic.
”This message was taken up by Troncon in the council of antients & by Thibideau in the council of five hundred. I hope you have seen their speeches. They are able, & seem to me entirely exculpated the legislature.